#but yeah gavial is awesome

[johannstutt413]

“Doctor!” As he was rounding a corner on the way to a meeting, the Doctor was blindsided by a powerful force and swept off his feet into the arms of an Acahuallan. “I’m back.”

He wheezed in her ear. “Welcome… back…”

“Oops, my bad. Here.” The Invincible Gavial set her dear friend back on his feet.

“Th-thanks,” he sputtered, coughing before finally getting a chance to catch his breath. Once he had, though, the Doctor immediately went back for a second hug. “How’s the new kit?”

The Archosaurian grinned from ear to ear. “Still a Medic at heart, but Zumama’s axe is pretty great. Couldn’t have cut that tunnel outta that rock with my staff, that’s for sure.”

“You couldn’t what.” He hadn’t seen the reports yet.

“I’m sure someone wrote it down.” She glanced around the hall. “Are you busy right now?”

The Doctor grimaced. “I’ve got a meeting, actually. After that, though?”

“Yeah… Yeah, it’s nothing urgent, I guess. I’ll drop by your office later.”

“Sounds great.” Gavial let go of him, but as he walked past, he couldn’t help but notice something. “Hey, Gav, did your tail-”

*SMACK* As if on cue, it slapped the ground. “Did my tail what?”

“Neeeeevermind.” He chuckled to himself as he continued his walk. Still a pet peeve of hers, it seemed.

The meeting went surprisingly fast, but rather than take a leisurely stroll back to his office, he hurried through the halls on the off chance that Gavial was waiting for him.

“Huh.” She was. “That was quick. Went to check on my patients, but they all got reassigned while I was out.”

The Doctor frowned as he closed the door behind him. “Really? Nothing serious, I hope?”

“I think they just thought it was a convenient time to be switched. Speaking of, how are you doing? Haven’t been here to give you a physical for a while.” The Acahuallan slapped the couch cushion next to hers.

“Sid and Hibiscus are trying to turn me into an athlete,” he replied, wincing as his shoulder reminded him of that morning’s workout, “but other than that, no major concerns… It really did get thicker-”

The Invincible groaned as her tail smacked the armrest it was draped over. “I need to carry my staff with something, and I’ve only got two hands. Doesn’t mean I want it getting thick.”

“What’s wrong with a thick tail?” They’d have this conversation before; it always made him laugh how flustered she got about it.

“I- we can do this later.” She shook her head. “There’s something serious I need to ask you.”

He straightened his back, making it crack, to reflect the new mood. “Something serious, huh?”

“Yeah. I… shit, I told myself it’d be hard to say, but I thought I’d still have the words to say it, at least.”

“Take your time.” She didn’t say anything for a while, so the Doctor continued. “Did something happen while you were out there?”

Gavial leaned back. “No, I’ve had this on my mind for a while, just didn’t make sense to bring it up before.”

“Really?” He had no idea what she was worrying over, then.

“I’m going back out into the field as a Guard rather than a Medic because Dr. Kal’tsit said a Medic shouldn’t be beating the shit out of people, and she’s got a point.” The Acahuallan glanced at her weapons resting against the office wall. “Thing is, most of my patients are already scared of me, and I don’t think waving Zumama’s ax and chainsaw around is gonna help with that… I don’t scare you, too, do I?”

He stared at her. “I’m not scared you’re going to hurt me, no.”

“Good.” The physician sighed with a smile.

“You do scare me, though.” The smile immediately disappeared. “I know you always reassure people that you know your body best, that despite your COA having risen over the past year even with all the precautions and treatments you’re still fit for the field, but every day I worry that it might be the last I get to see you. Now that you’re gonna be on the frontlines on Kal’tsit’s orders…”

The Invincible had never looked more vulnerable as she gently slid an arm around his shoulders. “I’m not gonna die out there, Doctor. Not while you’re still around.”

“You’ll always come back to me?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her eye with her free hand. “Shit, why’d you have to go and say it like that?”

The Doctor wiped a tear from his face. “Sorry, I just remembered that one time you were in the ICU. I cried myself to sleep that night, you know.”

“...No, I didn’t know that.” Gavial slid closer.

“Even just the idea of you-” In the blink of an eye, he went from sitting on the couch to being gator-rolled into position; when the world wasn’t spinning anymore, he was lying on top of the Acahuallan, his head gently cradled against her neck. “I- How did you-”

She flipped back his hood to start stroking the back of his head. “If it works on a deer, it works on my dearest friend.”

“‘I’m your ‘dearest’ friend…” The thought almost made him feverish.

“The road’s not so lonely anymore, but there’s no one I wanna walk it with than you.” Her head turned, leaving her lips millimeters from his forehead. “I still haven’t gotten used to the air conditioning in this place.”

Oh really? “...Is that really the best you got?”

“The best ‘what?’”

“You’re friends with Tomimi,” the Doctor snickered, “I thought your pickup lines would be better.”

Gavial snorted. “Right, because hers worked so well on me. Why would I need a line, anyway?”

“I guess you’re right. All you’d have to do is ask….” He looked at her expectantly.

“...” The Invincible didn’t look nearly as tough blushing like that. “Wait, you actually wanna-”

He groaned. “Yes! Yes. That’s one-hundred percent how I thought this was going.”

"Son of a bitch. Alright, come on." The Acahuallan managed to get to her feet without unentangling herself from the Doctor. "I'm not risking your back on this stupid couch."

[princeshroob]

Okay, so it's officially been a year since I started playing, and I was wondering if I wanted to do something for it...or even if I could do something, but I eventually came up with the idea to go over my squad in order of first acquiring them, all the way to the present

(I swear to Terra, if I get something notable from free pulls before this comes up, I'm gonna explode)

...So uh, I wanted to have Mudrock and Surtr in the same picture, but they were too far apart for that, so screw it, I'm going with two pictures at once here! Anyways, in case you didn't know, I got into this game because of Mudrock and waited until she was rate-up before rerolling, and this is basically what I ended up with. Crazy thing, I actually got her twice in the same 10 roll, so I got to enjoy her with -1 DP cost immediately! And then when I went to pull more in hopes of getting Surtr (who was the shoperator at the time) I immediately got her from a single headhunting ticket! Amazing!! And yeah, that's why I wanted them in the same picture together.

Anyways, you can also see Angelina and Bagpipe there. Angelina was from the Newbie pool, and like Mudrock I also got two of her. But...meh, I didn't really feel like building her up too much. I did e1 her, but honestly, if I got her much later on, she'd probably be sitting in e0 Purgatory. Bagpipe, on the other hand, was the first 6* I got from a Top Operator tag, and that was a heck of a lucksack! I actually got her twice total from recruits, and then another pot from the CC shop. Two more pots and she'll be epic!

so uh, anyone else in those two screenshots...Oh, Utage? I got her that early?? Dang, never realized she was with me for as long as Mudrock XD. Also Myrtle is also e2, but I think pretty much everyone has e2d her, if only for access to e2 supports. Perfumer and Cuora were much later e2s, sometime after Il Siracusano, I think? Oh yeah, I guess Indra is a bit notable in how she's a recruit-exclusive 5*, but that's it.

Hmm, a bit less things of note here. Lumen was very recently promoted to e2, although I did neglect to get his potentials since I was a bit preoccupied with getting Mudrock to e2. At least his event should rerun real soon. Meteor, Cliffheart, Courier, and Ethan I promoted to e1 since I've seen guides use them pretty often. Gavial I kinda quickly fell in love with after her Alter came out, so that was definitely a waifu e2 there! Saria tho, oh boy. She's so freaking awesome! Definitely one of my best recruit lucksacks!

Now, I think it was around this time where CC#9 started. I had Surtr that I've seen Risk 18 strats for, and I've seen strats that used Horn, so I basically fused those two strats together so I could use easier risks overall.

...Ah, funny that the three e2s on this image are those three. Anyways, Exusiai was, yet again, another recruit lucksack, and she does so much damage! Well, so long as the enemies don't have too much defense, but there's ways to make up for that. Texas was from the pinboard missions, nothing unusual there. Lappland was from the 5* selector new players get, and I got her because man, having her earlier would've made SN so much less painful...but also, just having her in general is nice. Also, Elysium I got as my guarantee 5* when pulling on a banner that had him, so that was pretty sweet.

Hoo boy, here we go. Imma be real, when I first saw Sideroca, my mind instantly went "I have to get her" and, well, she's the welfare operator from the W event, so of course I did. Also, you might think it's funny that Gavialter and Blaze are right next to each other. Well, I rolled a bit on the banner in hopes of getting Chalter (Not that hard tho, since the odds weren't exactly in my favor) and I ended up getting Gavialter. As for Blaze...shoperator. Even after rolling Gavialter. XD. I just think she's cute! Also, Click was promoted because the event made me realize how weak my caster game was at the time, so I thought I'd e2 her as a sort of budget option. Wasn't really ready to promote Amiya at the time, so this had to be an acceptable compromise.

(If you're wondering why I didn't mention Amiya before...did I really need to? Everyone has to promote her in order to complete chapter 8. That's just how it is.)

Oh right, around this time was when the first Trials for Navigator event started. I...can't quite recall if I did Ultimate TN-4, but I'm pretty sure I got all the rewards at least, so there's that.

Oh, and there's also CC#10. I...barely remember what I did, and past me didn't exactly do a good job of actually posting the clear screen of risk 18. Man, they really dropped the ball on that. I definitely baited the cannon with Mudrock tho, no way am I gonna forget her pivotal role there!

OKAY, I'M LOOKING OVER MY SCREEN AND THE SCREENSHOTS I TOOK AND I COMPLETELY MISSED BLUE POISON! Ugh, she deserves better than to be skipped over, though to be fair, I was trying to focus on getting all my 6*s screenshotted at least, but anyways, she's e2 as well.

Anyways, Jaye there is e2, my first male e2 actually, and Ptilopsis I actually got from the 5* selector we got last anniversary (I think I'm gonna go for Warfarin with the next one btw, not like I can lucksack her in headhunting outside of kernal) and she's been very helpful! Astgenne, the welfare from the seemingly mythical Dorothy event, was so cute I couldn't not e2 her! Pinecone I e2'd cuz I was coping about not having Chalter, and Hibiscus Alter I e2'd cuz purple hair is too good! As for Fartooth...I considered building her, heck I even promoted her to e1, but I just have too many other operators that I would rather build.

Hoo boy, this. This is undoubtedly the start of where my power skyrocketed! Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way, I originally wasn't gonna go for Mlynar, but I decided that I might as well go until a 6* (though my track record tends to go otherwise if I don't get a good result) and I thankfully got him, and oh boy has he been integral in a lot of my hard clears! Nightingale...right, I got her and Fartooth from the standard banner with Saga and Mountain cuz those were both 6*s I had an interest in. Well, unlike Fartooth, I actually built her (though it was long after pulling her) and she's been pretty helpful keeping my team alive through heavy arts damage. Also Proviso I promoted to e2 and it had nothing to do with her base skill and everything to do with how cute she is XD. Whislash I was absolutely dying to get so you bet your bottom dollar I e2'd her almost immediately! Ifrit I got from yellow cert shop, and she's been pretty helpful when I can make good use of her. Chen I just happened to get with a Top Op + Nuker combo cuz why not? Didn't like my other options at the time much. Mostima, unfortunately, was a Top Op recruit that I didn't want cuz I wanted Ceobe, but oh well.

Anyways, if Mlynar wasn't enough, how about the time I pulled FREAKING SKALTER WHILE BREAKING PITY AFTER SPARK? Like, she would've been my spark if I had lucksacked Nearl Alter, so that's basically the same exact event in my mind. Anyways, aside from her, I didn't get any off-rates in that banner, so I was left with 2 Penance and 4 Texas Alters from that banner. Ceobe, as I mentioned, was a huge want for me, so I of course got her from the yellow cert shop, and then Horn was from the 6* selector at that time, and she's also been super helpful for me since then. Especially for IS#3, dear lord is she good against the first endboss there.

Right, this is around when CC#11 started. Risk 18 was absurdly easy that I didn't even need a guide for that (though my huge spike in power was also a factor.) I did push for higher risk though, and ended up with risk 25.

Almost getting towards the end here. Mizuki was a spook from the Gnosis banner (I primarily wanted Aurora) and, while he may not be the best 6* I could've got, I still wanna e2 him real soon. Kal'tsit was from yellow cert shop (which was during that absolutely horrific time period of Yostar forgetting Saga exists) and Magallan was just a random Top Op roll. Not building her, too small brain to use her well. Mountain was from the gamma headhunting ticket, and he was the one I wanted the least, but I still wanted him...even if my post at the time didn't look like I did I am an unappreciative jerk but anyways, it turned out to be for the better that I got him over Pozyomka. Lin was an absolute lucksack from free rolls on the banner, and I actually went out of my way to e2 her during the event! Lava Alter I e2'd cuz again, purple hair. Then there's Eyja, who was another yellow cert grab. Do I need to say anything about her? She's been the top Caster in the game since Day 1, with only Goldenglow being a possible threat to that title! (though for top caster in my heart, that title belongs to Ceobe XD)

I think both Trials for Navigator 2 and CC#12 were well after this, but the later operators I got weren't that important for that, so I'll just go over them here. Except...I barely remember what I did for TN#2. I just know that I did the Ultimate trial, so there's that. CC#12 though, my memory's a bit more clear on that. I did some strategizing for a few risks above 18, then changed them a bit to get even higher, all the way up to 26, exceeding CC#11 by a single risk! I honestly feel proud about that!

And now we have reached the present day. Rosa and Pozy both spooked me during the Yato Alter banner, the latter of which I built up quickly. And oh boy, is she super powerful! Even in the current event, she's been integral in dealing with the boss super quickly in my auto deploy setup! But Rosa sadly will take a backseat while I wait for Typhon, because believe you me, there's no timeline where I don't get her! Yato of course I had to hit the hard pity for, but she's been working very well for me. Weedy was another random top op. She was supposedly good for CC#12, but that didn't really convince me to build her sadly. Saga I have waited TOO FREAKING LONG for her to be in the yellow cert shop. And of course, Goldenglow I got with the 6* selector from the store as of now! Oh, also I got FEater to e1 max cuz she's super cute and I hope to e2 her some day.

Aaaaaand that's it. Man, it took a while to get this done that I actually wrote this in a few sessions cuz my attention span is...not great. But at least I got it done in time!

[rex101111]

Rex, my god, Vigilo is literally blowing me away. I'm just at the second record and my god those scenes with Kal are just... powerful.

"...The languages of this world have developed over thousand of years, and yet I'm still unable to choose the most suitable word to order my thoughts during the many moments I think about you."

"I want to thank you. Over the past month or so, you've shown me some new possibilities."

SCRATCH ALL THE KAL-EX WIFE JOKES. I NOW BELIEVE THAT KAL IS OUR EX-WIFE'S BEST FRIEND AND SHE'S GETTING PISSED THAT SHE START TO UNDERSTAND WHY THERESA FELL FOR YOU.

(Also how Doc literally ho to jail like Kal did in Iberia and just said "I learned that from Kal" as an excuse. I love this character so much)

The dynamic between these two is so fucking fascinating. And the writing in Vigilo is so entrancing to read. Seriously. Going from the early period of Chief Gavial (while not bad it was kinda simplistic, though it was a lot of fun), to this. What a jump!

Also yeah, the awesome thing about Kal'tsit is that she's perfectly honest but always hides the full truth. She never says everything she feels, but she's very good at sounding like she's telling you everything you need to know. And usually that's where it ends, Kal'tsit has been at this shit for ages, she's very good at distancing her as far as she needs to from the person she's talking to.

Very, very few people get past these defenses, very few people I wager know Kal'tsit, and most of those are long dead. Amiya wormed her way past, Theresa (by all appearances) simply walked right through...and the Doctor is slowly but surely chipping their way in.

Does she hate us? Absolutely, but it's more accurate to say she hated who we were, the Doctor she knew from ages past...who she is slowly beginning to understand is gone. Hate isn't that easy to just shake off, just look at W, but things are never that simple with Kal'tsit.

And that's why she's the best character in Arknights.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by anonymous; liberties taken with Gavial and the Great Chief Returns’ plot)

“We’re going to Acahualla?” Gavial beamed at the mission dossier. “I haven’t been home in awhile.”

The Doctor shrugged, looking around the room of gathered Operators. “I figured it’d be a nice place for a vacation.”

“Vacation?” Ceobe was confused - weren’t these brown envelopes supposed to have work in them?

“Yep, a vacation.” He stretched his arms behind his back, letting out a long yawn. “I’m not getting any younger, and you only get so many chances in life to romp around in the jungle with your friends and coworkers, so I figured I’d make up an excuse to take some folks with me to Sargon. Gav’s from Acahualla, so we’re going there. Any other questions?”

Blaze raised her hand. “Should we bring swimsuits?”

“I will literally buy one for everyone here who doesn’t have one. Yes, Utage?”

“We’re still bringing our weapons, right?” The Nue patted her sword, leaning against the table next. “It’s not a vacation if I can’t take Shishiou with me.”

He chuckled. “I mean, if we don’t, Kal’tsit might catch onto us, so don’t forget your gear...but I know I’m changing on the plane to save the time later. Anything else? No? Alright, we meet at the airstrip at 0900. Let’s make this a ‘mission’ to remember!”

Of course, things didn’t entirely go to plan - for one, a certain fat-tailed Archosaurian managed to locate a rocket launcher, and for another, she managed to land a shot on RI’s expensive airplane - but despite the crash landing, the group did end up roughly where they wanted to be, in Acahualla proper. All they had to do now was get to a lake and-

“GAVIAL IS BACK!!!” Unfortunately, the natives had other plans.

“Hey, put us down!” The Doctor couldn’t really be heard over the roar of excited Archosaurians, to be fair. “Hey, Gav, are you really this popular?”

Being right next to him in the crowdsurf (by choice), she could easily reply, “I guess they missed me...Unless-”

“Gavial!” A particularly thick-tailed Archosaurian approached, leading to the crowd setting their ‘guests’ down.

“Damn.” He turned to the Medic. “Friend of yours?”

She nodded. “Tomimi. I’ve known her for a long time now.”

“Gavial, you’re back! Who are these folks?” The newcomer gestured to the arrayed Operators.

“They’re from the company I work at, Rhodes Island. We’ve got Ceobe.” Here the Medic started going down the line. “Blaze, Utage, Lancet-2, Dylon, and my fiance.”

At ‘fiance,’ the Doctor waved at Tomimi. “Nice to meet ya.”

“...Fiance?” The Caster cocked her head, tapping the stick in her hand on the ground a few times.

“Is that a problem, Tommy?” She looked back at their plane and frowned. “Hey, where are those guys taking our engine?”

‘Tommy’ pointed at the Doctor with her stick. “I’ll fight you for her.”

“You. What.” So many things for Gavial to pay attention to, so little time.

To his credit, the challengee was game for it. “Sure. Right here, right now?”

“No, it’s not the right place.” Tomimi looked at her cronies. “We’ll take them to Mahuizzotia.”

“The Mahuizzotia?...Do you all still not have a chief?”

One of the guards walking next to Gavial shook his head as they began the escort mission. “Since you beat everyone, and then left, we haven’t had one.”

“Hmm.” The Medic glanced around their group. “Anything stopping me from teaching Tommy a lesson, then?”

“Yeah: I wanna do it.” The Doctor cracked his neck as he said it.

She sighed. “Doctor, no offense, but you’re not a brawler.”

“I’m not?” He chuckled. “So last night wasn’t a brawl, then?”

“Not the way it would’ve been if I was serious.”

It was at this point that a smaller group of Archosaurians, along with a few Pythians, sidled up to Tomimi’s human procession towards the back. “Hey, you. Come with us.”

“Me?” Dylon couldn’t look ahead, thanks to the number of tails in between him and the Doctor, so he looked at Lancet-2. “What do you think they want from us?”

“Data insufficient. Excuse me, but where will you be taking us?” The robot turned her camera to the one who’d asked for them to split off.

The Python gestured behind them. “Chief Zumama loves machines. We think she’ll want to talk to you. She also has your engine.”

“Our engine?!...Hey, Doctor! Lancet and I will meet you back at the plane when you’re done!”

“Sure, Dylon!” The Doctor had more pressing issues on his mind. “So, Tomimi, you think that if you win, Gavial will want you instead?”

The Caster nodded. “That’s how it works.”

“Uh-huh. Who told you that?” A sideways glance at his fiance told him she didn’t know.

“I read it.” That elicited a stifled gasp from Gavial. “Inam’s given me all kinds of books to read.”

The Medic groaned as the dots connected. “Of course it would be her.”

“Gotcha. This is gonna be a straight hand-to-hand fight, right? A proper duel?”

“I was gonna use my stick,” Tomimi admitted, “but we can do that. As long as I win.”

The Doctor smirked. “Now that’s a tagline if I’ve ever heard one...Speaking of, where’d Kay run off to? Blaze?...Utage?”

“Did they all leave?” Gavial didn’t think it was that easy to get lost in the jungle.

“I guess so. Ah well.” He looked back ahead to the Caster. “Say, Tomimi, what’s your favorite thing about Gavial?”

The Gavial in question gave her fiance a sideways glance. “Doctor.”

“I...How do I choose?! Wh-what’s your favorite thing about Gavial, Doctor?”

“Her attitude.” She elbowed him, and he chuckled. “What? I’m serious. You’re the kind of person who knows what they want and doesn’t beat around the bush. Besides, no matter how tough you are, you’re a total sweetheart, too~”

Tomimi nodded. “She really is. Back when we were younger, she saved my life.”

“Ohhh. So this is who you were talking about all this time, then? Huh. I can definitely see it.” The Doctor laughed at the dagger-eyes his fiance gave him.

“She talks about me?” Tomimi’s procession stopped in its tracks to hear the answer. “What did she say?”

The Medic shout-whispered, “Don’t do it, Doctor.”

“Gavial told me the reason she became a medic was because she realized after saving your life that helping people was much more worth her time than hurting them - even if she does plenty of that still. Oh, and she mentioned your tail, which now that I’ve seen it for myself, I can see what she meant, but Gav, I still stand by what I said.”

“You really went there.” She sighed. “Just so you know, Tommy, the Doctor’s a thick-tail guy.”

Where the procession had stopped to listen in before, they were now stopped to freshly hash out the debate as the Caster turned around to face him, knocking over two of her tribesmen in the process. “You are?”

“Any tail’s a great tail as long as the person it’s attached to is awesome...but if we’re talking about preferences?” He’d caught himself staring a couple times on their walk already, and he didn’t stop himself now (partially to make his point...partially).

“O-oh.” Tomimi looked from one to the other before settling on the Doctor. “B-but isn’t mine too much? I mean, it’s so hard to make it look good.”

He cocked his head. “You think so?”

“You don’t?”

“A thick tail’s a beautiful thing on its own - no offense, Gav.” The offense had been taken before this conversation started, don’t worry, Doctor. “I imagine it’s a burden at times, but...can I touch it?”

As the Caster gasped, Gavial smacked him on the back of the head. “Babe!”

“What? As if you didn’t tell me about all the times you did.” Now they were facing each other, enthralled in an old argument.

“So? I used the past tense for a reason.” She glanced over at Tomimi. “Then again, it has been a while...”

Then the Doctor, surrounded by brawling Acahualla natives and in full view of his fiance, walked over to their ‘captor’ and lifted her off the ground. “Wow. Gotta be real careful where I put my hands, I guess.”

“Eeep! You’re a lot stronger than you look!” Tommy was holding onto him in turn - because she was scared she’d fall, of course! No other reason!

“He’s the kind of guy who just sweeps you off your feet if you’re not careful,” Gavial admitted. “Hey, are we going to Mahuizzotia or not?”

Tomimi and the Doctor looked each other in the eye as he told his fiance, “I don’t think we have anything to fight about anymore. Say, Gav...Can we take her back home with us?”

“You want to introduce the rest of RI to your vacation girlfriend?” The Medic had to admit, it would be nice having her around again, but honestly, could he be more obvious right now?

“Girlfriend?” The Caster’s eyes lit up. “If I’m Gavial’s fiance’s girlfriend, does that mean...I’m also Gavial’s fiance?”

Her carrier looked back to the third party in this negotiation. “I mean, she does make a fair point, Gav.”

“...Alright, but only because it’s her, okay? This wouldn’t be okay with anyone else.”

“I wouldn’t dare with anyone else.” The Doctor licked his lips. “This is a very special case.”

At this point, Dylon and Lancet arrived with another contingent of Archosaurians and Pythons led by another person that made Gavial gasp. “Great news, Doctor! We got our engine back!”

“And we recruited someone. Zumama, this is the Doctor, and you said you know Gavial already?”

“I do.” The engineer looked from her to her fiance, whose attention was entirely on their new third wheel. “They told me the designer of this amazing Lancet is back at Rhodes Island, yes?”

The Medic shrugged. “Pretty sure that’s Closure, yeah. You’re coming with us, then?”

“Mhmm. Is she?”

“Mhmm.” Man, everything was coming up Gavial today. “Well, now that that’s figured out...Doctor, you wanna find a pool to cool off in?”

He nodded. “Whoever can take us there, lead the way. Except you, Tommy.”

“Okay~” Why would she want to, anyway? She was perfectly content where she was.

Zumama took charge, leaving her entourage to take care of Tomimi’s crew (most of whom were unconscious by this point) while taking their guests to a waterfall with a crystal-clear pool beneath it. “Here we are.”

“Awesome.” The Doctor, who’d carried the Caster all this way, finally set her down. “Can you swim in what you’re wearing now? I have a couple spare swimsuits if you need one.”

“Will any of them fit me?” Her tail slapped the ground, sending dust flying as it did.

The Medic waded into the water, followed soon after by Zumama, Dylon, and- Ceobe? “Oh, Kay, there you are. Everything okay?”

“Thirsty.” She dunked her head into the pool for a bit before shaking herself off. “Thirsty.”

“Oh, hey, there they are!” Blaze and Utage cannonballed in from near the waterfall, followed by a Liberi and a few others.

Gavial looked around the gathering before focusing on her fiance. “This the vacation you were hoping for, Doctor?”

“Hell yeah!” He was waiting by some trees for- ah, there she was. “Everything feel alright, Tommy?”

“It was made for me. I...I feel pretty.” She twirled around, knocking over a thin tree in the process.

Best. Vacation. Ever.